Perez frustrated with fourth, Hulkenberg thrilled with P8

It had been a tumultuous weekend for Racing Point, after the team had been forced to find a short-notice replacement for Lance Stroll after the Canadian reported in sick on Saturday morning.

After a tricky qualifying session which saw stand-in driver Nico Hulkenberg understandably in last place, Sergio Perez had predicted a 'painful day' for the team at the Nurburgring.

He suggested that the difficult circumstances the team had found themselves in would mean they risked falling behind their rivals in the constructors championship.

But as it turned out, the Eifel Grand Prix turned out much better for both drivers than anyone could have reasonably expected.

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"To finish P4 is a strong result and the team did a great job to go into a race full of unknowns and read the conditions so well," said Perez.

"The first stint was crucial to our result. We made a good start and gained a place, and we were able to manage the tyres to run longer, so we had an advantage for the second stint."

That said, he was still regretting on narrowly missing out on a podium, to Renault's Daniel Ricciardo.

“I’m a little bit frustrated because I felt the podium was ours if we didn’t have the safety car," he said. "Until that point I was catching Daniel and he was on older tyres.

"It was set up for a close battle for the podium in the final laps," he added. "After the safety car I was able to pressure Daniel and I almost got him into turn 4 but I wasn’t able to make it stick.

"I’m pleased to see Nico score points as well, and we’ve ended up turning what could have been a really difficult day into a strong result."

As for Hulkenberg, the German 'super sub' - who had already filled-in for Perez earlier in the season - couldn't believe that he'd come away with points for the team after starting from dead last.

"What a race and a story that was!" he beamed. "I really didn’t think we could go from last to eighth. I’m not sure many thought it would be possible before the race!

"A lot of things happened around us and some retirements helped too, but I’m really pleased with our performance and it’s a real credit to the team.

“Very happy with everything, to be honest,” he continued. "Obviously totally unexpected but totally appreciated and really happy for that.

"The start wasn’t great, as I kind of expected, but then lap 1 I managed to find two spots I think," he recalled. "Then I kind of just really focused on myself, just really trying to find the good rhythm for myself in the car.

"Being on the limit, which kind of happened halfway through the first stint," he continued. "I managed to make the tyre last, and I think a long first stint was key then to a successful result.

Eighth place at the Nurburgring combined with seventh place in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone puts Hulkenberg in 15th place in the driver standings and ahead of the likes of Antonio Giovinazzi, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean despite only taking part in two races.

And with Perez finishing in fourth place, Racing Point picked up 16 points on Sunday to pull ahead of McLaren and take third place in the constructors championship.

"It was great to play a part in the team moving up into P3 in the Constructors’ Championship," Hulkenberg said. "Obviously there’s still a long way to go in the season but I wish the team all the best in the coming races.”

If that's a 'painful day' for the team then it will surely welcome a few more of them before the season finale in Abu Dhabi in December.

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